Finnish authorities have ordered Google to stop preparatory construction work at two planned AI data centre sites in northern Finland, after an investigation found that hundreds of thousands of trees had been cut down before required environmental assessments were complete. The sites, at Muhos and Kajaani, are run through Google's local company Tuike Finland Oy and form part of a €13 billion investment the company announced in early September, described as its largest single investment in Europe.

Source: News Unlimited, reporting The Guardian investigation

Yaani — €13 billion means 1,300 crore euros, roughly US$15 billion, for one company's build-out in one European country. The scale is why the clearance figures drew national attention in Finland.

Source: News Unlimited

Investigative reporting on Thursday found that Google's contractor cleared about 330 hectares at the Muhos site, removing roughly 250,000 trees, with combined estimates for the two sites reaching about 400,000 trees. Finland's Licensing and Supervision Agency (LVV) has ordered Tuike Finland to stop environmentally significant land work at both sites and has opened a formal inquiry while it reviews whether mandatory environmental impact assessments were required and followed; reports on the regulator's order said the work had to stop by October 23 at the latest.

Source: Particle News

€13 billionGoogle's Finland investment — yaani 1,300 crore euros, about US$15 billion
~250,000trees felled at the Muhos site, investigation estimates
~330 hectarescleared at Muhos
93,000+signatures on a petition for stricter data centre rules

Field observations and satellite images cited in the reporting show the clearing included topsoil removal, road-building and drainage changes, and residents say muddy runoff has reached waterways linked to the Oulujoki River. Finnish police have opened a probe into suspected illegal logging connected to the projects.

Source: Particle News

Google's Finland country manager has apologised for the clearances, and the company has proposed biodiversity measures including replanting on 130 hectares — though experts note that new plantings do not immediately replace mature forest, soil structure or water systems. A building inspector in Muhos told the Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat he felt pressured by Google's lawyers into permitting preparatory work; a Google representative denied the company pressured municipalities.

Source: News Unlimited, reporting The Guardian investigation

The halt adds to a wider European debate over how fast AI infrastructure can be built against environmental and planning rules, with similar tensions reported around data centre growth in Ireland, the Netherlands and Sweden. A petition demanding stricter regulation of data centres in Finland has passed 93,000 signatures, nearing the threshold that would force Parliament to formally debate the issue.

Source: News Unlimited

What is solid

  • Finland's LVV regulator ordered Google's Tuike Finland Oy to halt environmentally significant work at the Muhos and Kajaani sites until environmental impact assessments are completed
  • The two sites are part of Google's €13 billion investment in Finland, announced in September and run through Tuike Finland Oy
  • Finnish police have opened a probe into suspected illegal logging, and Google's Finland head has apologised

What is only claimed

  • The tree figures are investigation estimates — about 250,000 felled at Muhos, with combined estimates for both sites put as high as 400,000 — not an official count
  • A Muhos building inspector's claim that he felt pressured by Google's lawyers is denied by Google